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Housing

On July 2, 1965 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) began its work for women's equality, enforcing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which among other things prohibited employment discrimination within labor unions. This week, we take a glimpse even farther back, to the turn of the century, to the roots of women organizing for fair prices.

Born in Kovno, Lithuania, in 1890, Pauline Newman was barred from the local public school because she was Jewish. As a girl, her opportunities for a Jewish education were limited. Her father tutored well-to-do boys in Talmud; he eventually allowed her to attend Sunday classes, where she learned to read and write both Yiddish and Hebrew. The obstacles she faced in getting an education motivated her to fight for gender equality later in her life.

Clara Fox, a social visionary and a consummate professional, died on November 9, 2007, at the age of 90. She began her career as a director of programs for young people with mental illnesses. She then went on to become an expert in early childhood programs and was asked by the Lindsay Administration to organize the first Head Start Program for New York City. Her work in early childhood education led to an awareness of the housing problems that were prevalent in New York.

Few Jews participated in the first wave of suburbanization during the final decades of the nineteenth century. Today, suburbs are the popular residential choice of most Americans. Despite their increasing diversity, they still lack the population density, poverty, and public culture of urban centers.